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Section B Passages
Passage 1
In America, white tailed deer are more numerous than ever before, so abundant in fact that they've become a suburban nuisance and a health hazard.
Why can't the herd be thinned the old-fashioned way? The small community of North Haven on Long Island is home to some six hundred to seven hundred deer. The department of Environmental Conservation estimates the optimum population at 60. The town has been browsed bare of vegetation except where gardens and shrubs are protected by high fences.
Drivers routinely collide with deer and there are so many dead bodies left by the side of the road that the town has made it a deal with a local pet cemetery to collect and dispose of the bodies. Some people in the town have become ill from deer transmitted diseases. On the occasions when hunting has been tried, local animal rights people have worked to secure court orders against the hunts. And when that is failed, they stop the hunters, banging on pots and pans to alert the deer. Town meetings called to discuss the problem inevitably dissolved into confrontations.
The activists believe simply that the deer are not the problem. Some communities have even discussed the possibility of bringing wolves back into the ecological mix. That means wolves in the suburbs of New York. It is almost too wonderful not to try it. The wolves would kill deer of course. They would also terrorize and kill dogs and cats which is not what the suburban dwellers have in mind.
Q16. What do we learn about white-tailed deer in North Haven?
Q17. Why do local animal rights people bang on pots and pans?
Q18. What would happen if wolves were brought back into the ecological mix?
答案：
16. A. They have become a headache to the community.
17. C. To alert the deer.
18. B. They would endanger domestic animals.
点评：
这是一篇关于生态的文章。讲述了白尾鹿数量过多给长岛带来的负面影响，以及政府因此采取的措施。首句便点明了文章主旨，16题的答案即可呼之欲出。17题为事实细节题，pots and pans压了头韵，在文中的特征还是颇为明显的，不难定位。18题看似推理判断，但并不难从原文中得出正确答案，cats and dogs都是domestic animals家禽，所以也可看作是事实细节题。总的来说，今年听力短文的难度有所下降。大家要有信心，一定能通过考试的！
难词：nuisance n. 麻烦事 hazard n. 危险 alert v. 向……报警
Passage 2
And now, if you'll walk this way, ladies and gentlemen, the next room we're going to see is the room in which the family used to hold their formal dinner parties and even occasionally entertain heads of state and royalty. However, they managed to keep this room friendly and intimate. And I think you'll agree. It has a very informal atmosphere, quite unlike some grand houses you visit. The curtains were never drawn, even at night, so guests got a view of the lake and fountains outside which were lit up at night - a very attractive sight. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the guests were seated very informally around this oval table, which would add to the relaxed atmosphere. The table dates from the 18th century and is made from Spanish oak. It's rather remarkable for the fact that although it's extremely big, it's supported by just six rather slim legs. However, it seems to have survived like that for 200 years. So it's probably going to last a bit longer. The chairs which go with the table are not a complete set. There were originally six of them. They are interesting for the fact that they are very plain and undecorated for the time, with only one plain central panel at the back and no armrests. I myself find them rather uncomfortable to sit in for very long, but people were used to more discomfort in the past. And now, ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to follow me into the great hall…
Q19. What do we learn about the speaker?
Q20. What does the speaker say about the room they are visiting?
Q21. What is said about the oval table in the room?
Q22. What does the speaker say about the chairs?
答案：
19. A She is a tourist guide.
20. C It was used by the family to hold dinner parties.
21. B It is very big, with only six slim legs.
22. D They are uncomfortable to sit in for long.
点评：
这是一篇导游词，介绍名人故居的一个房间。对房间的作用，风格，陈设等做了详细的讲解。没有太难的生词，只要抓住以上几个角度，题目就不难做出了。除了第一题，其他三题都是事实细节题， 21、22题可能乍一看，很难推测出考点，这时可以注意文中详细讲解的部分，导游对oval table, chairs做了非常详细的介绍，即为考点。
Passage 3
Janet James was 22 years old when she was diagnosed with MS-a disease that attacks the body's nerves. She has just graduated from college and got a job at an advertising agency when she began to sense that something strange was going on inside her body. When James realized how severe her illness was, she knew she had better hurry up and live life. MS is the biggest crippler of young adults. And although she didn't have many symptoms, she knew it was just a matter of time. First on her agenda was to pursue her dream of hosting a pop music program. She worked at a radio station for a year, always aware that her body was degenerating. Then her best friend moved away. And one night James began screaming, "I got to go! I got to go!" Two weeks later, she arrived at Alaska, thousands of miles from her friends, her family and her past. "Everything fell into a place", she recalls. A 23-year-old girl with an incurable disease can fly to Alaska and everything can work out. The MS attacks came and went. And most of the time they hardly slowed her down. James hiked, fished, learnt to sail and experimented with hot air ballooning. "I lived for adventure", she says. "Nobody ever had a better time or did more exotic strange things than I did in an 80-year period." Inevitably however, the day came when she was so weakened that she had to return to Pittsburgh, her home town. There she began relieving her adventures by writing a book about them. Her book was published in 1993.
Q23.What does the speaker say about MS?
Q24.What did Janet James decide to do after her disease was diagnosed?
Q25.What's sort of person can we infer Janet James is?the ecological mix?
答案：
23. D It is the biggest crippler of young adults.
24. A Hurry up and live life.
25. B Adventurous.
点评：
本篇短文听力介绍了一位MS患者的励志故事。主人公Janet James在22岁时被检测出患有MS（多发性硬化症）--这是导致年轻人残废（crippler）的最大原因。当得知自己患有重病，James决定抓紧时间，享受生活。接下来短文讲述了James在病发前逐一完成自己的梦想，并尝试了许多冒险行为，例如远足、钓鱼、学习驾驶帆船、体验热气球等。最后当James的病情达到严重地步时，她回到家乡，并把自己的冒险故事写成了一本书籍。
这篇短文中有一些关于疾病的单词，例如diagnosed、MS、crippler、symptom、degenerating，给听力增加了难度。
Section C compound dictation
It's difficult to estimate the number of youngsters involved in home schooling where children are not sent to school and receive their formal education from one or both parents. Legislation and court decisions have made it legally possible in most states for parents to educate their children at home and each year more people take advantage of that opportunity.
Some states require parents or a home tutor to meet teacher certification standards, and many require parents to complete legal forms to verify that their children are receiving instruction in state approved curriculum.
Supporters of home education claim that it is less expensive and far more efficient than mass public education. Moreover they site several advantages: alleviation of school overcrowding, strengthen family relationships, lower dropout rates, the facts that students are allowed to learn at their own rate, increased motivation, higher standardized test scores, and reduced discipline problems.
Critics of the home schooling movement content that it creates as many problems as it solves. They acknowledge that, in a few cases, home schooling offers educational opportunities superior to those found in most public schools, but few parents can provide such educational advantages. Some parents who withdraw their children from the schools in favor of home schooling have an inadequate educational background and insufficient formal training to provide a satisfactory education for their children. Typically, parents have fewer technological resources at their disposal than do schools. However, the relatively inexpensive computer technology that is readily available today is causing some to challenge the notion that home schooling is in any way inferior to more highly structured classroom education.
点评：
本篇听力填空主要讨论在家接受教育的问题。文章结构非常清晰，为传统的三段式。第一段介绍在大部分地区，法律（legislation）允许家长在家教育子女，有些地区还会要求家长或家庭教师需满足教师资格，甚至有些地方要求家长填写表格，证实他们的子女正在接受获批的课程。对于这种教育方式，有利也有弊。文章第二段表述了在家接受教育的支持观点，例如便宜、有效、增进家庭关系、降低辍学（dropout）率，学生可以自主学习，提升动力（motivation），减少纪律（discipline）问题等。第三段介绍了这种教育方式的反对意见，一些批评家们争论（contend）这种方式既解决了一些矛盾也带来了一些新的问题，例如有些家长可能不具备施教能力，并且他们不像学校那样具备充足的科技资源。本篇听力的三个词组听写出现在最后一段的最后三空，这种现象十分罕见，学生做题时需提高警惕。
